Standard Issue Podcast

Nicky Denson-Elliott knows that a high tide lifts all boats. She first came to our Mick’s attention because of her current campaign to replace ‘hysterectomy’ with ‘uterectomy’ in NHS patient materials (you can sign the petition here), but it quickly became apparent how many different projects Nicky's got going in order to raise that tide for all boats. And by boats, we mean women.  In this ep...

Mickey and Hannah bring you a veritable rogues gallery this week: Farage, Trump, Infantino, a vigilante cat shaver. Shall we go on a 2,400-mile rowing trip to get away from it? Sure. But don't forget to pack your vaginal oestrogen! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hollywood giant John Huston directs Michael Caine, Sylvester Stallone and – wait – Pelé, in this sports-war drama, reimagining the 1942 “Death Match”. But how bad can a prisoner of war camp be when all you have to do is dick around playing football? How solid is the history? And can you really do that with a sub? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Author Rebecca Wait makes a return visit to the podcast to chat to Hannah about her latest book Havoc, a dark comedy about a mystery illness that breaks out at a girls' boarding school in 1984. They chat about Cold War anxiety, hysteria and, of course, Picnic at Hanging Rock. Grab a copy of Havoc here Or Suzanne O'Sullivan's The Sleeping Beauties and Other Stories of Mystery Illness here Want to j...

This summer marks the 19th year of the Arcola Theatre’s seminal Grimeborn festival, a season of new and reworked operas. Jen chats to the Arcola’s executive director, Leyla Nazli and Lisa Logan, the composer behind new work After My Breath, about bringing opera to Dalston, why people find the art form intimidating, and those comments by Timothée Chalamet. The Grimeborn Opera Festival runs from 15...

After her first book - Ashes to Admin - was published, a lot of people got in touch with Evie King to tell her they'd been inspired to get plans in place for the end of their lives. If that's what she could achieve without trying, she thought, why not write a book to help people through the whole process? Hannah chats to Evie about Get Ahead of Being Dead, wills, funerals and why the hard conversa...

Is too much screen time really the scourge of the under-twos? And exactly how excited should we be that the first ever female Labour Prime Minister is Andy Burnham, a man who isn’t even Prime Minister yet? Jen and Mick tackle these hot button questions and more in this week’s flirt with the news, which also includes another heinous rape trial, legitimately great news for young women, and Greg Cots...

No-one's going to argue that Rodgers & Hammerstein's musical doesn't have issues, but does it still have things to recommend it? Is Anna an early feminist? Does it contain a banger? Is The Small House of Uncle Thomas a masterpiece? And why was young Hannah so fascinated by Yul Brynner?  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Working-class, feminist comedian Rachel Fairburn has long been a guaranteed good laugh on the comedy circuit, and a must-listen on All Killa No Filla, her smash hit true crime podcast with fellow standup Kiri Pritchard-McLean.  Rachel’s new show, Vexy Beasts, moves her into the ‘character comedy’ bracket, as she introduces hairdresser Leanne, fighting for her salon’s life while spilling the T on h...

In her new book, Pleasure: The Reclamation of My Body, journalist and broadcaster Emma-Louise Boynton interrogates the societal forces that teach women to mistrust their bodies and perform rather than feel pleasure. Jen chats to Emma about Emma's own story, the impact of the male gaze and digital culture on women’s pleasure, why gendered ideas around sex and pleasure are doing us all a disservice,...

Planning on spending the weekend on the sofa with all the fans pointed at you? Here are some suggestions on what you could watch at the same time. This month, we're talking about Two Weeks in August, The Four Seasons, Rivals, The Witness, The Burroughs, Widow's Bay, World War Two with Tom Hanks and what we make of World Cup coverage so far. * Hannah's chatting about why she thinks The Pitt's Dr Ro...

It’s feeling swampish in the UK this week, but spare a thought for the poor old Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool over in Washington DC. It seems Donald J Trump can think of nothing else. If the leader of the free world is distracted, the leader of the UK is... well, to be decided/Andy Burnham following Keir Starmer's resignation. There’s sexism live from the ITV kitchen, Hannah's found some elderl...

Steven Spielberg’s swashbuckling, whip-cracking, quip-cracking archaeologist Indiana Jones’s first adventure was beating the Nazis to the lost Ark of the Covenant. Will film picker Mick keep her big love for the film and its flawed hero under her fedora? Spoiler: NO! But what will Jen and Hannah have to say about the breakneck Oscar-nabbing adventure film that launched a thousand adventure films i...

Ever wondered why a female health campaigner writes ‘seggs’ instead of ‘sex’, or uses an emoji instead of a medical term? Turns out social media platforms are systematically censoring medically accurate content on topics such as menstruation, fertility and menopause – often misclassifying such content as “adult” material and limiting its reach. It goes further, with femtech entrepreneurs also find...

As the saying goes, you never forget how to ride a bike. But how easy is it to teach a small person something you can’t remember not being able to do? Following the UK launch of children’s bike brand Woom, Jen jumped on the Zoom with senior marketing manager Christina Pallanch to talk about modelling an active lifestyle for our girls, carving out time to stay active as a mum, and top tips for pick...

Charming, melancholic, funny and ever-so British, Tim Key and Tom Basden’s tale of two men stuck in the past and on an island is Hannah’s pick for this month’s Flicking. How does Carey Mulligan fit in? Is Basden really that grubby? And why is Key making Mick and Yosra cry so much?  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hannah and Mick can’t say FFS loud enough as The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill returns from the dead for another round in Parliament. And just how good an idea is the blanket banning of social media for under 16s? Or indeed the blanket banning of anything? Still, in good news, reading is up, the Wombles are back, and women get two personality choices courtesy of The Times. How generous....

The second film in Jim Henson’s much-beloved franchise, contemporary critics said 1981’s The Great Muppet Caper failed to live up to the expectations set by its predecessor, The Muppet Movie. But were those reviewers mad? Can it top Hannah’s love for The Muppet Christmas Carol? What has Jen’s daughter written in her notes? And what has Mickey got on her feet? Learn more about your ad choices. Visi...

Set in Trinidad in 1956, Driftwood is the debut play of actress Martina Laird. She chats to Hannah about why Trinidad's history is England's history too, The Little Mermaid, and the night they sat really near each other in a theatre. * Driftwood is on at the Kiln Theatre in London. More here: https://kilntheatre.com/whats-on/driftwood/ * Details on how to become a member of the supporters' club he...

When Roberto De Zerbi was made Spurs' new manager, his previous public support for player Mason Greenwood – who was in the past accused of various sexual assaults, although all charges were dropped – made the headlines. As a Spurs fan, journalist and broadcaster Kate Mason wrote about her take on this for The Athletic. She chats to Jen about how clubs deal with accusations of misconduct, the optio...

Actor Liv Hill made her TV debut in the BBC’s remarkable Three Girls back in 2017, aged just 16. She’s currently playing Jane in Ava Pickett’s astonishing play 1536, in which three Tudor friends face the echoes of Ann Boleyn’s trial and beheading in their own rural lives. It’s a sharp and powerful portrayal of misogyny that also crackles with humour and the joy of female friendship. Mick chats to...

Thick as mince headlines, more body ‘correcting’ jabs, World Cup qualifying nonsense, online child sex abuse and women being harassed by drunk men on trains: no wonder British women are fuming. And yet, Mick and Jen are also bringing good news – some of it even relating to that long list of bleak.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Would we want to live in a Utopia where everyone is killed at 30? Would we run? Would we dress like we were in Pan's People? Would we find wrinkles fascinating? Find out as we watch the classic dystopian sci-fi that begs these questions and many, many more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Actress and writer Sofia Barclay's love for the Bard shines through her book Shakespeare's Heartbeat: 40 Sonnets for Navigating Big Feelings. She talks to Hannah about big feelings, Desdemona, filming in a heatwave, Sam Rockwell playing a baby and Ted Lasso. * You can listen to Shakespeare's Heartbeat: 40 Sonnets for Navigating Big Feelings on Audible here * Find out more about the Standard Issue...

An estimated one million under-18s in the UK help to look after a relative with a disability, illness, mental health condition or drug and alcohol problems. Inspired by her experience of providing end-of-life care for her own mum, director Rosie Morris's short documentary Is Mum OK launches on The Guardian this week. In it, Rosie meets with some of Britain's young carers dealing with responsibilit...